"My lord, there are guards in the palace ordering you to enter the palace immediately."
Outside the study room, the voice of the old housekeeper in the mansion was a bit tired and frightened. This old man who had worked in the Dashi Mansion for more than ten years clearly noticed that tonight was unusual.
The study door opened, and Li Changshou walked out slowly.
This Paper Taoist is dressed in a dark red toga, with pale long hair tied up in a crane crown. He is still so energetic, as calm and energetic as when he first moved here many years ago.
Li Changshou took out a letter from his sleeve, handed it to the old housekeeper, and said with a smile:
"After I go to the palace tonight, you lock the gates and tell the guards in the palace not to go out at will. If anyone comes to ask you, just say that I have gone to the palace.
When everything is safe tomorrow, you open this letter. It contains the method to open the cabinet in my study, and you can distribute the money in it to the people in the house.
It can be regarded as a fate between you and me. "
The hand of the old housekeeper holding the envelope trembled, "My lord, what are you... Now the rumors in the city are spreading fiercely, and they have been saying that the king is seriously ill a few days ago, you, you don't want anything to happen!"
"It's not an accident, but it's time to leave." Li Changshou raised his hand and patted the old housekeeper's shoulder, "Don't think too much."
After saying that, a wisp of smoke came out from under Li Changshou's feet, and he slowly lifted himself up half a foot, turned around and appeared directly in the empty place in the front yard, and walked towards the gate without haste.
The butler opened his mouth, but just knelt down facing Li Changshou Zhi Taoist's back, leaving a soft sigh in the night, as if he was grateful for all these years of care.
When Li Changshou came out of the gate of the mansion, the soldiers of the brigade swarmed up and surrounded the gate of the mansion. A middle-aged general cupped his fists forward, lowered his head, and shouted loudly:
"My lord, Dazai invites you to enter the palace immediately, and the general has prepared a carriage for you."
"It's not a bullock cart?" Li Changshou frowned, and said old-fashionedly: "I don't know if I can stand the bumps with my old arms and legs."
The general smiled awkwardly, and said in a low voice: "The situation is urgent, please accommodate me a little bit, if I bump you, I will cut off the head of the driver!"
The two guards who were leading the carriage couldn't help shivering.
"No way, no way."
Li Changshou waved his hand, and stepped onto the frame with a brisk step, staring straight at the group of soldiers next to him.
If this were placed in Li Changshou's hometown of Blue Star, the group of young people next to him would probably sing praises in unison:
[Fuck, this old man, ouch, shit...]
In the secular world of Nanzhou, there is only one sentence: This old man is really strong.
The shaft of the carriage turned rumblingly, and Li Changshou staggered in the carriage, galloping all the way towards the palace.
At the same time, outside the residences of the ministers around the Grand Palace, ox carts and horse-drawn carts rushed to the palace under the escort of soldiers and guards.
In the past few days, the situation in Chaoge City was jittery.
The old king's health is deteriorating, and he is almost exhausted at this time; the three princes are waiting in the palace, and the government is temporarily in charge of the government.
At this time, Dazai summoned all the ministers late at night, nothing more than one thing.
The king is gone.
However, Li Changshou knew that Emperor Yi had died two hours ago, and that there had been a Canglong manifested in the sky above Chaoge City, and then dispersed on its own.
At this time, observe Chaoge City with the method of gazing, and you can see that the clouds above Chaoge City are steaming and glowing, and a piece of purple-red cloud is constantly surging.
That is the fate of the Human Sovereign who has not yet reunited, which means that the position of the Human Sovereign is pending at this time.
Although Zi Shou is the heir, there must have been some accidents in the palace, otherwise there would not be a delay of two hours.
Ordinary, throne, greed, selfishness...
This night is really suitable for Senior Brother Yuding to come here to enlightenment.
not long...
"Master Dashi, we have arrived."
"Yes," Li Changshou replied, opened the curtain of the car, and was helped off the frame by the soldiers.
Around, there were chariots and horses parked in a haphazard manner, and veteran officials were helped down one after another, and hurried to the king's bedroom.
Those hurried footsteps sounded like rain sweeping plantains, and like a defeated army rushing.
Li Changshou was among the veterans, and people kept coming over to say something, but he stopped them with gestures.
Soon, these ministers rushed to the bedroom.
Hundreds of civil servants and military generals have gathered here, but there are very few who are qualified to enter.
"Master Great History!"
An old minister shouted, and the ministers surrounding him tried to make way. Li Changshou hurried forward, frowning, and entered the concealed palace gate.
A strong smell of medicine hits the face.
The palace is somewhat dark, which seems to deliberately highlight the oppressive atmosphere at this time.
Walking forward, more than a dozen civil and military ministers gathered in front of the bed in the middle of the hall. Li Changshou took a closer look, and found that they were all people who were on the list of gods and secretly stamped in his little book.
Bigan, young and vigorous, has seven orifices and an exquisite heart, and is in charge of great merchants and punishments.
Du Yuanxian, Minister of the Department of Tianjian, studied astronomy and astrology, knew the changes of solar terms, and set the farming months of Dashang every year.
Mei Bo, admonishing the doctor, how the Lord is angry with the king.
Shang Rong, Wai Yin, was originally the Minister of Internal Affairs, sharing internal and external affairs with the Dazai, but due to Shang Jun's taboo, it is only a vain job at this time.
There is also Wen Zhong, who is just showing his old age, and the prince's young teacher, assisting the prince...
etc.
Li Changshou secretly calculated, but found that Huang Feihu, who was qualified to enter, was not in the hall at the moment.
Before these ministers, there were three princes kneeling beside the bed, each bowing their heads in silence.
Zishou is the eldest son, kneeling at the front, and behind him are two middle-aged scribes, his elder brother and second elder brother, Wei Ziqi and Wei Zhongyan.
The sound of Li Changshou's footsteps attracted a lot of attention, both Wei Ziqi and Wei Zhongyan cast kind eyes on him.
Only Zishou just knelt down beside the bed, not moving at all.
The white-haired Dazai came quickly and said in a low voice: "Dashi, you are finally here. The king has already ascended to immortality. Please write down the history and pass it on to future generations."
Li Changshou coughed weakly twice, and took out a gorgeous piece of cloth from his sleeve.
"It's done."
"Write!" Dazai glared at Li Changshou, and several senior officials looked over with frowns.
Li Changshou said in a low voice: "Nothing will go wrong, be prepared."
The prime minister opened the cloth, leaned to the side lampstand, read it carefully, and then nodded slowly.
"Since that's the case, the old minister will go and announce to all the ministers that the great king has ascended to immortality, and also ask the three princes not to forget to perform the ceremony."
After saying that, Da Zai held the cloth and ordered the palace servants to open the palace gate, and shouted loudly with a unique emphasis:
"My lord! Collapse!"
All the ministers outside the hall fell silent, and the son beside the bed choked up and shouted:
"Father!"
Wei Ziqi and Wei Zhongyan shouted in unison, Bigan bowed his head and wept, all the ministers bowed and sobbed, and the female relatives wept bitterly from the corner of the hall.
The sound of crying spread from the king's bedroom to all places, and after a while, the palace was filled with sobs.
This is a ritual and must be respected. If you don't cry, you will be punished.
An hour later, the crying stopped.
Dazai shouted loudly and ordered the priestess to pray and chant sutras. This process lasted for a day and a night.
Then Dazai said:
"I also invite the three princes and ministers to move to the palace.
Shang cannot be without a king for a day, the king's final will is in the hands of the veterans, and you have just witnessed it with your own eyes.
Everything is determined by this purpose! "
Li Changshou couldn't help laughing secretly from the bottom of his heart.
Di Yi died two hours before he came here, and this decree was an hour and a half before he came here.
At that time, Emperor Yi seemed to be returning to the light, but in fact it was just some magic tricks.
The rules set by the Heavenly Court were not to touch the Emperor, and when Emperor Yi died, the Emperor's luck had already collapsed, and he was nothing more than a corpse.
This trick may seem shallow, but it is quite useful.
The three princes stood up, bowed their heads and retreated, and walked out of the palace without a word, followed by all the senior officials.
Wen Zhong took the opportunity to get to Li Changshou's side, hesitant to speak, and finally just sighed softly, and didn't say much.
Soon, the courtiers who were crying just now receded like a tide, and there were only a few female priests left in the whole hall, and they started bouncing up and down, quite lonely.
One generation of emperors and one generation of ministers, people take tea to cool down, nothing more.
Half an hour later, in the palace of the king.
In front of the empty throne, Da Zai slowly spread out the cloth in his hands, and the somewhat short-breathed voice of reading aloud began to float back and forth in the hall.
The three princes at the bottom stand with the character "Pin", and Zishou sits in front, bowing his head to listen to the announcement.
Wei Ziqi and Wei Zhongyan stood at the back, and they looked at each other with a meaningful smile on their lips.
Just listen to Dazai:
"In my entire life, although I have conquered foreign countries, expanded the territory of the country, captured millions of enemies, and promoted the prestige of the ancestors, it has been in vain.
Today, the big business is full of internal and external troubles.
I think about it carefully, but I feel that Zishou is too young and too sharp. If the throne is handed down to another hand, I am afraid that the effort will not be enough, and the country will fall apart.
As the eldest son, Ziqi was progressive in his studies, treated others with humility, and could be entrusted with the throne. "
Dazai paused, and looked down at the three princes below.
Needle dropping could be heard in the main hall, and an unspeakable sense of oppression made many civil servants and generals hold their breath.
Da Zai said in a deep voice, "Prince Zishou, do you have any objections?"
Zishou remained silent, but straightened his back and closed his eyes.
Wei Ziqi frowned slightly, but Wei Zhongyan sighed, and said slowly: "I never thought that my father would change his mind at the last moment.
Compared with me and Zishou, elder brother Ziqi is indeed calmer and has the demeanor of a monarch. "
At this moment, a burly general stepped out from the array of generals and said loudly:
"Dare to ask Dazai! When did the king make this decree? Why hasn't the general heard of it?"
Another general said: "This decree is really written by the king? Since today, the king has been full of praise for Zishou, why did he suddenly change the heir candidate?"
"General Lu Xiong!"
A civil official scolded: "Are you teaching the king how to do things?!"
The military general named Lu Xiong scolded: "The last general is loyal to the king, the sun and the moon can learn from each other! It's just that this matter is really strange, we have to ask and find out!"
"General Lu Xiong," the prime minister sighed, "before the king was dying, he ordered me to open the secret box next to the pillow, and took out this decree from it.
Five of the Six Ministers had seen this matter, and the two Uncle Wangs had also seen it with their own eyes. "
Bigan, the head of civil servants, nodded slowly, and Xu Yu, who was beside the ministers and had no specific position, also nodded slowly.
Most of the generals frowned in confusion, but half of the civil servants had faint smiles in their eyes.
Li Changshou watched quietly from the side. In fact, he also wanted to know how Zishou would ascend to the throne, and whether he would reveal his brutal and heartless side tonight.
I'm looking forward to it.
"Third brother."
Wei Ziqi called out and sighed: "Don't be sad because of this matter, this throne will be shared by you and my three brothers."
Zi Shou was completely silent, standing there quietly, but there was an indescribable majesty from his back.
This is not the coercion generated by the cultivation realm, but pure majesty.
Such as mountains, such as the sky, such as the blue waves of the four seas!
"Third brother," Wei Zhongyan took half a step forward, and said seriously: "Before the ministers, don't embarrass the elder brother. I know that you don't want to give up the throne, but this is also the will of the father..."
"Have you had enough trouble?"
Zishou murmured in a low voice, which made Wei Zhongyan a little puzzled.
Wei Zhongyan was about to continue speaking, but Zishou said indifferently: "The ministers retreat, and those who do not retreat will be killed."
"this… "
"Prince, how do you give orders?"
"We are ministers appointed by the late king, why can't we be here?"
Clang!
clang clang!
In the array of generals, a large number of generals pulled out their daggers from their leg armors, holding the swords and forced the civil servants to the side, full of murderous intent.
All the officials retreated quickly, and Zishou said again: "Everyone who was at my father's bed before stay here."
The trino raised his arm and shouted:
"Wait a minute! You guys are going to reverse it!"
The generals didn't answer, but just drove away the civil servants, went out of the hall together with the civil servants, and closed the gate of the palace tightly.
Bang!
That Wei Ziqi blushed, turned around and glared at Zishou.
"Son Shou! Could it be that you don't even respect your father's will?!"
Zi Shou turned around at this moment, staring at his elder brother with some cold eyes, causing the latter to subconsciously take half a step back, and the exquisite robe was wrinkled.
"Whether that is the father's will, you and I know very well.
I have always respected you as an elder brother, but you actually use the corpse of your father to make such a plan!
Is it true that I don't know the strange art of the outsider? "
That Zai hurriedly said: "Third Prince..."
"Shut up!"
Zi Shou turned his head and stared angrily, there happened to be thunder shining outside the hall, and the Da Zai was so frightened that he put his hands on his chest and almost passed out.
At this moment, there was a sound of rubbing armors outside the hall, and it seemed that a large number of soldiers swarmed over.
The little boy suddenly became more confident, held his head high, and pointed his fingers:
"Third brother, you don't have to be brave, you can frighten brother and all the ministers! This Chaoge City, you can't decide tonight!"
"Yeah?"
Zishou twitched his lips, walked towards the throne on the high platform, turned around on the steps, and sat in the middle of the steps, with a bit of pity in his eyes.
"Eldest brother... Big brother, it seems that you haven't discovered a thing for so many years.
When I was young, you and your in-laws used various methods to target me, including poisoning, assassination, and accidents. Did I ever die? "
Wei Ziqi's face darkened, and he said coldly, "Brother doesn't know about this matter."
Zi Shou leaned back, leaning his elbows on the steps, with a hint of sarcasm in his eyes.
He said slowly:
"For tonight, you have spent three years of hard work secretly subduing the commander of the city guards and the twelve generals of the royal palace's personal guards. For this, you made a lot of ugly appearances and made bigger and bigger promises.
If you become king tonight, there will be more than ten kingdoms.
Brother, have you ever thought about what is wrong with our business country? "
Wei Ziqi said calmly: "The disadvantage of the Shang country lies in the slaves and the marquises."
"I used to think that way, but not anymore.
The disadvantage of the Shang Dynasty is that you, I, and my father are all standing on this iceberg, but want to melt the iceberg into living water. The first to fall is you and me. "
Zishou raised his hand and pinched the bridge of his nose, "I used to think that I was the only one who saw the pain of our Shang country.
It wasn't until I had a talk with Da Shiye that I realized that I was not the smartest prince in the past.
Everyone can see these pains, and there must be many people who want to innovate, but in the end they just have a broken head.
why
Shang has eight hundred vassals, but Shang is the biggest vassal. When the big Shang gets old and weak, there are always ambitious ones to stand up.
The real problem with business is that...
King, not king enough. "
rumbling—
Thunder flashed outside the hall, and then heavy rain poured down.
Along with the thunder, there was a sudden killing cry from the direction of the palace gate.
Wei Ziqi's complexion changed, he quickly walked a dozen steps towards the palace gate, but stopped immediately, turned around and glared at Zi Shou on the steps.
"Third brother, what have you done!"
"Clean up the rebels."
Zi Shou replied calmly, shook his head slightly, and said indifferently: "You only know how to plan and want to hold Feihu back, but you don't know that Feihu has already made preparations and secretly built a tunnel from the city gate to the palace gate.
Half of the personal guard generals you recruited are my people. "
Wei Ziqi's eyes widened, and he cursed: "You, you! You're planning to be a brother!"
"I didn't want to fight internally, but brother, you have done too much."
Zishou said: "Young master, take the will of the father and the king and show it to Dazai."
"yes!"
Wen Zhongzhong agreed angrily, stepped forward quickly, put a cloth scroll in Dazai's hand, raised his hand and patted the back of Dazai's hand lightly.
Dazai's breathing was a little disordered, he opened the cloth tremblingly, and tried his best to recite:
"The widow, the widow knows that time is not long, if you go back, take Zishou as the king, and you will do your best to assist and protect our great Shangshan River.
Bury the widow next to the ancestors, and don't make a big funeral. "
Wei Zhongyan said in a low voice: "That's all?"
"that's it… "
Da Zai looked down at the few words on the cloth, "Indeed, that's all, and it's written by the King himself."
Wei Zhongyan's complexion suddenly turned pale.
At this moment, the killing shouts outside the palace had stopped, the palace door opened a gap, and a figure rushed in, dressed in golden armor, completely wet by the rain, with a majestic face and a long breath.
It was Huang Gun's son, Huang Feihu!
Huang Feihu knelt down on one knee, held his sword in his arms and said, "Your Majesty! The rebels have been wiped out!"
Wei Ziqi whispered: "No, it's impossible! I have 100,000 soldiers!"
Zishou said, "Feihu, how many enemy troops are there tonight?"
Huang Feihu said calmly: "However, thousands of stragglers gather at the gate of the palace and join forces with the guards inside and out. It's as easy as flipping the palm of your hand."
"No, you lied to me!"
Wei Ziqi's face was pale, and he roared at the top of his voice, "Come on! Come on!"
It was quiet outside the palace gate, as if even the breathing of the officials had been suppressed.
The jingle sounded, but it was Wei Ziqi who collapsed powerlessly to the ground.
Zishou stopped talking, turned around, looked up at the throne at the end of the steps, lifted the hem of his robe, and went up the steps.
His steps are steady and his eyes are firm.
'Starting today, the glory of the great merchants and the foundation of the ancestors will be borne by the widow.
The disadvantages of big business, the danger of raising tigers, should be reformed by the few.
The eight hundred princes who refused to be ministers were destroyed one by one.
Those who don't pay tribute from all over the world will be swept away by thunder.
The widow does not believe in the destiny! '
In front of the throne, Zi Shou turned around suddenly, the palace door was wide open, civil servants and military generals bowed their heads and quickly stepped inside, the dozen or so ministers who were originally left in the palace remained silent.
Not long after, Bigan was the head of civil servants, and Huang Feihu was ahead of generals.
Zishou raised his hands and slowly sat down on the throne.
Above Chaoge City, golden light bloomed in the purple-red haze, and then a golden dragon soared into the sky, quickly absorbing the fortune of the great merchants, and roared silently at the Tiangong.
"The widow is the destiny!" '